PS file format
| Extension | .ps |
| Category | images |
| Programs | Adobe Illustrator (Windows, Mac OS) Adobe Acrobat (Windows, Mac OS) Adobe Photoshop (Windows, Mac OS) Adobe Photoshop Elements (Windows, Mac OS) ACD Systems Canvas X (Windows) ACD Systems ACDSee Photo Studio (Windows) GSView (Windows, Linux) GPL Ghostscript (Windows) Apple Preview (Mac OS) Evince (Linux) |
| Main program | Adobe Photoshop |
| Description | Between 1982 and 1984, Doug Brotz, Bill Paxton, John Warnock, Ed Taft, and Charles Geschke at Adobe Systems developed files with a .ps extension. This file format, widely employed in electronic and desktop publishing domains, radically altered the publishing industry. Prior to the advent of the PostScript format, the thought of integrating text and images on the same page, as is common today, was unthinkable. The introduction of PostScript files enabled applications to communicate with printers through a mediating software layer, thereby facilitating the simultaneous display of text and images on a single page. The Apple LaserWriter, which was launched in March 1985, was the first printer to support the PostScript format. This significant advance marked a pivotal turning point in the printing and publishing sectors by resolving the challenge of text-image printing. |
| Technical details | PostScript was initially conceived as a programming language for computers by John Gaffney, and the file format was subsequently developed. The creation of PostScript files is typically accomplished using applications such as Adobe Acrobat or Quark Express. Despite the rise of new file formats that offer similar or superior functionalities, PostScript remains viable in modern printing technologies, which has led hardware manufacturers to incorporate the device driver software structure. A typical PS file functions like a GPS system. It provides directives. These directives determine the necessary coordinates for the printhead. The printhead precisely prints each pixel of a character in the correct position. |
| MIME type | application/postscript application/ps application/x-postscript application/x-ps text/postscript application/x-postscript-not-eps |